Queen banking means holding a number of non-laying queens in cages within a single colony. It bridges the gap between when queens are produced and when they are used.

Why it is needed

• Production happens in batches; use is spread out
• Sales timing does not match emergence timing
• Holding spare queens allows a rapid response to loss

The bank colony

The colony holding the queens must meet certain conditions:

• Very crowded
• Rich in young bees. They are the ones that will feed the queens
• Well supplied with pollen and nectar. Fed continuously if there is no flow
• Queenless, or with the queen behind an excluder

The cages are arranged on a frame so the bees can feed through the mesh.

Limits

Banking is a temporary solution, not a permanent one.

• Quality falls as time passes. A non-laying queen weakens
• Acceptance falls. A long-banked queen is harder for colonies to accept
• The bank colony wears out. Being kept queenless exhausts it

Banking should therefore be kept as short as possible.

Care

• Add frames of sealed brood regularly
• Feed continuously if there is no flow; starvation in a bank colony costs queens
• Check the cages regularly and remove any dead queens
• Remove wild queen cells
• Leave adequate spacing between cages

Short-term holding

For a few days a travel cage suffices. The queen is kept with her attendants in a cool, dark place that is not too dry, with candy accessible.

Direct sun, heat and dry air cause losses quickly.

The alternative

The healthiest way to hold spare queens is not banking but nucleus colonies. In a nuc the queen lays, the colony develops and her quality is preserved.

Keeping a few nucs in the apiary turns the loss of a queen from a crisis into a routine matter.